, OH
Wheeler Tavern was built by Portius Wheeler, an early pioneer of Hardin County, around 1835 near the Shawnee Ford of the Scioto River. According to local historians this was the first brick residence constructed in Hardin County. Tradition maintains that Wheeler Tavern was a station on the Underground Railroad, a network of contacts and places that aided escaping slaves making their way to the free North.
, OH
First organized as the Kenton Lock Manufacturing Company in 1890, the Kenton Hardware Company became one of the world’s largest cast iron toy factories. Under the management of L.S. Bixler, toy stoves, banks, fire company outfits, horse drawn vehicles, automobiles and cap pistols were produced. The immensely popular Gene Autry cap pistol was produced at this plant beginning in 1938. The Company ceased production in 1952 but Kenton toys continue to be popular collectors items worldwide.
, OH
Built in 1886 by direct descendants of slaves, the Black and White schoolhouse provided education for local youth until 1928. Denied admission to white schools in the area, local African-American families first built a log schoolhouse across the road in 1883 in which to educated their children. Three years later, this brick building was constructed. The black families allowed white children to attend and, as a result, the school became known as the Black and White school. It is an early integrated school in Ohio.
, OH
Hull’s Trail was a rough passageway through Ohio to the Canadian border, used by General William Hull’s army during the War of 1812 on its way to attack the English at Detroit. Woodsmen cleared the trail to permit the Ohio Army Militia with its artillery and baggage to travel through the unbroken wilderness. The route through Hardin County has been marked by stone columns from the old county courthouse.
, OH
One of Ohio’s larger courthouses, this structure, completed in 1915 at a cost of $275,000, is the third courthouse to be built in this vicinity. The building, designed by the architectural firm, Richards, McCarty, and Bulford, is an excellent example of Neoclassical Revival architecture. The courthouse interior is notable for its outstanding leaded stained glass skylight, brass chandeliers, and murals. The twelve large exterior light standards are made of solid brass. The exterior walls and terrace railings are made of Indiana Gray Limestone, while the steps and surrounding curbs consist of granite.
, OH
Henry Solomon Lehr founded Ohio Northern University in 1871 as the Northwestern Ohio Normal School. Its purpose was to train teachers and to provide higher education to the people in Northwest Ohio. In 1885, the school became Ohio Normal University. The new name recognized that the institution drew students from all over Ohio and the nation, and offered courses in many disciplines, including literature, music, business, telegraphy, and law, as well as teacher training. Beginning with 131 students, the institution’s enrollment grew rapidly during its first thirty years of existence. Buildings on the early campus included Dukes Memorial (left), built in 1905; the Normal School Building, built in 1871 and demolished in 1915 to make way for Lehr Memorial (center); and Hill building (right) finished in 1879. The Methodist Episcopal Church (predecessor to the United Methodist Church) assumed control in 1899. Ohio Normal University became Ohio Northern University in 1903. On June 3, 1910, President William Howard Taft delivered that year’s commencement address near this spot.
, OH
The Village of McGuffey was named for John McGuffey, who in the 1860s first attempted to drain the Scioto Marsh. A larger and more effective drainage effort, made by others who entered Hardin County in the 1880s, continued for several decades until thousands of acres of land were in production, principally of onions for which the marsh became nationally known. During the era of highest production of onions, most townspeople were involved in planting, weeding, and harvesting. The fields were bordered by windrows of willow trees to decrease wind damage over the black silt-like muck that was originally ten or more feet deep throughout the marsh. Successful treatment against wind erosion and oxidation reduced the depth of muck to only a few inches.
, OH
Ada grew alongside the tracks of the Ohio & Indiana Railroad, completed in 1854 between Crestline, Crawford County, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. This line became part of the Southwest Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1869. Ada’s rapid growth as a college town in the 1880s prompted the railroad to build this distinctive and unique two-story Stick Style depot in 1887, departing from the railroad’s standard depot plans. Larger than most small-town stations, it features a second-story telegrapher’s office. For many years the station served as Ada’s gateway to the outside world. One of few surviving 19th century Pennsylvania passenger stations in Ohio, the Ada depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
614.297.2300
Contact Us
